Football is back. The Gamecocks are days away from their season opener against East Carolina and that means a return of What to Watch For. This was a weekly feature last year and will try and keep it going for you guys this year.
East Carolina has an impressive offense but their defense might be suspect in this opener and USC has some top notch talent on both sides of the ball. Here are a few areas that I think are important ones to watch for this weekend.
ECU Passing vs. USC Secondary:
Dominique Davis came onto the scene last year in his first season with ECU. He proceeded to throw for over 3900 yards and 37 touchdowns. Dwayne Harris and Lance Lewis were the big play threats as both went over 1,000 yards receiving and caught a combined 24 touchdowns. It’s safe to say this is an impressive air attack from the Pirates.
South Carolina has been known for its strong secondary over the years but last year was a bit different. The Gamecocks secondary was torched for an average of 241.9 yards a game. Stephon Gilmore made the All-SEC team but there were several breakdowns in assignments that led to some pretty big plays by their opponents.
East Carolina will do their best to attack the Gamecocks secondary through the air. It’s their main threat on offense and they’ve got some weapons to use. USC will try its best to minimize the big plays this year and they’ll have a nice test in this ECU offense. Depth is a concern for the Gamecocks at safety and at cornerback in this first game but the talent is there to improve. I believe the Gamecocks will do a much better job of keeping everything in front of them and not allowing the ECU receiver to get behind them for huge gains all night long. East Carolina may have some passing yardage but as long as they keep them out of the red zone and minimize the big play then South Carolina has a great chance to win on Saturday.
USC Rushing vs. ECU Defensive Line:
Marcus Lattimore has been talked about as a Heisman contender before his second season starts. He’s that good. He rushed for 1197 yards as a freshman and scored 19 touchdowns. He’s the real deal. Depth was something the Gamecocks focused on this offseason and they’ve found capable replacements in Kenny Miles and Shon Carson. Carson is more of a scat-back and provides a different look than Lattimore at running back.
ECU was absolutely awful against the rush last year. Their defense gave up 226.7 yards a game rushing and they hope to improve on that area this year. It will start up front and the pieces are questionable, at best, to stop a big conference rushing attack. It’s a new 3-4 defense for the Pirates and a transition like this against a top 25 SEC team can be a tough challenge. John Lattimore was expected to be a major factor at defensive end but he was lost to a season-ending injury. Leroy Vick should fill a role on the line along with Matt Milner.
South Carolina’s offensive line should be able to keep ECU’s line at bay allowing Marcus Lattimore to hit the second level. The linebackers will have a challenge trying to stop the 6’0″ 233 pound running back that seems to give out as many hits as he takes. The production up front for East Carolina may be better under their new scheme but I think Marcus Lattimore will be able to do what he did against most teams last year and be a driving force for the USC offense against ECU.
USC Defensive Line vs. ECU Offensive Line:
East Carolina had a pretty incredible year last year as an offensive line unit. They gave up only 15 sacks in 13 games in 2010. This is incredible. I’m sure part of that is attributed to the quick attack offense ECU has as they can get rid of the ball in a hurry but this offensive did a wonderful job last year.
South Carolina’s defensive line was much better in 2010 thanks to the improvement from Devin Taylor and Melvin Ingram. Both players combined for nearly 17 sacks last year and they brought pressure on a consistent basis. This year they return most of the important pieces and add true freshman Jadeveon Clowney to the mix. Clowney is a 6’6″ 260-pound speed rusher from the outside and him and Taylor should form quite a combo in short time. There is some impressive talent on this line and some say it’s one of the best units in college football.
This should be an interesting matchup to watch all night long. ECU replaces 4 of those 5 starters from last year and it’s tough to lose that many players and continue with the same production. It’s important for this group to come together quick and give Dominique Davis time to read through his progressions and get to his check down receiver if he has to do so. South Carolina’s defensive ends are incredibly fast and I expect them to get in the backfield more than ECU is used to right now. Devin Taylor and Jadeveon Clowney are tall, lean, rangy players with quick speed and Melvin Ingram and Travian Robertson can both get to the quarterback from the inside as well. The sack numbers may not be high but I do think South Carolina will create a lot of pressure and force Davis to make even quicker decisions.
Closing Thoughts:
This is a matchup that could be similar for the Gamecocks as last year’s opening opponent, Southern Miss. There was some nice pieces for Southern Miss last year that gave people the idea that Southern Miss could compete with the Gamecocks. The outcome of that game was South Carolina won 41-13. So people are mentioning the same thing for the Gamecocks matchup with ECU. Will the outcome be similar? I expect a South Carolina win but it may not equal the win total from the season opener a year ago. I do think East Carolina’s passing attack will be able to move the ball at times against a depth-challenged Carolina secondary but I don’t believe their defense is capable of shutting down players like Marcus Lattimore, Alshon Jeffery, Ace Sanders, Damiere Byrd, and so on. The spread for this game is about 21 points and I think that sounds about right for USC.